Daughter’s Dying Wish Became Mother’s Motivation
There are many ways to support the life-saving mission of Be The Match®. Joining the registry is just the beginning. Even if you’re not called as a potential donor for a patient, you can make a difference. Take Marla for instance.
Marla kept hearing the words her daughter said to her shortly before she died: “Mom, I know this is going to be really hard on you, but I don’t want it to ruin your life.” Diagnosed at age seven with an adult form of leukemia, Marla’s daughter Nicole received a marrow transplant from her brother. But after just six years, Nicole relapsed and lost her battle with cancer at the early age of 14. It was a devastating loss. And it was the constant memory of Nicole’s words that enabled Marla to move forward.
In Nicole’s memory, her family founded an all-volunteer nonprofit organization, with a mission to help children waiting for a cure. Be The Match has been a beneficiary of Marla’s tireless efforts. Funds raised help add potential donors to the Be The Match Registry® and support transplant research to improve outcomes for patients. Marla has also supported our mission in many other ways. She sponsored Be The Match recruitment drives, supported our Be The One Run in Tampa, Florida, and signed up to be a volunteer marrow courier. “It is such a privilege to be entrusted to deliver what is literally someone’s new life,” said Marla. “I am so grateful to be a link in the chain of loving actions that began with someone who attended a marrow drive, registered as a potential donor, and ultimately decided to give a stranger the gift of life.”
As Marla’s motto reminds us, “One person cannot do everything, but everyone can do something.”
Joining the Be The Match Registry is one important step toward giving patients hope, especially if you are between the ages of 18 and 44. Research shows that younger donors provide the greatest chance for transplant success. While every member of the registry is critical to saving lives, registry members ages 18 to 44 are requested by transplant physicians more than 90 percent of the time.
There are many ways you can help patients. Consider making a financial contribution, raising funds, volunteering your time or helping us spread the word about the need for registry members between the ages of 18 to 44. However you choose to become involved, you give patients more hope for a cure. We need you!
Is there a way I can be in touch with Marla? Her story (Daughters Dying Wish Became Mothers Motivation) is my story. I too lost my beautiful daughter to AML Leukemia at the age of 15 years old. Her brother (only sibling) was her bone marrow donor. My daughter passed away 18 years ago and I am still searching for ways to do something in her memory and maybe this is the way. My daughter’s diagnosis was grim from the beginning but I do feel her bone marrow transplant from her brother gave her more time than she would have had. Thank you.
thanks…I needed to hear this. and will try to remember it as I help my son….
Cindy, I won’t tell you that when you’ve lost a child you ever get over it. I can tell you, however, that the best possible tribute one can give to their child is to embrace life and allow happy times to return, as they surely will. Life is full of many blessings and some wonderful people who are willing to help. Wishing you a peaceful heart.
Warm regards,
Marla
my heart goes out to all of you who have lost children or are having a child battle leukemia. IMy story is different than yours although I am still dealing with my loss. My sister developed (ALL) actue lymphoblastic leukemia at the age of 49. Primarily a childhood disease it affects adults more commonly as of late.
I was already in the registry, something I felt ironically called to do the previous year, and was due to go to an appt.to be tested to be her donor just a few days before she was rushed to the hospital for her final hospitalization. It was quite a shock to lose her so suddenly as just days before her numbers had been excellent for the procedure.She passed on Feb 9, 2011.
I miss her terribly and am of course still in the registry hoping and praying that I might be helpful to someone someday. But most of all, hoping and praying for this and ALL cancers to be eliminated.
Praying for all,
Linda
I had the pleasure of meeting Marla in 2009, it was about a year after my own daughter underwent a transplant from an unrelated donor. Marla is an amazing testament of the love of a mother, and wanting to further awareness of blood and marrow donation. She is a force to be reckoned with and a huge supporter to many families walking on the same path. She definitely has made a difference in our lives.
When my daughter was 5 years old, she was diagnosed with a rare disease called Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytis (HLH). It affects 1 out of 1.2 million children, and the only known cure is a bone marrow transplant. She didn’t have a match in her family, so the search began through the National Marrow Donor Program, but there was no match
for her in the United States either, so they turned to the international registry. This is where they found her one perfect match out of 14 million donors worldwide.
I fight for awareness because she fought valiantly and I’ll tell anyone who will listen about the importance of donating, and joining the registry. I do believe each one of us can make a difference, and Marla has empowered me to do just that. Paying it forward is the least we can do!
Be The Match has been a wonderful organization! We have had to turn to them 2xs now… My son (12 yrs) old was diagnosed initially in 2009 after turning 9 yrs old with the adult form of leukemia (AML) we also found out that he has a genetic defect that goes hand in hand with AML… This defect was just “found” in 2006! His 1st transplant from an unrelated donor in 2010 lasted 1 1/2yrs. We are currently set to go forward with this second transplant in just 1 week – 2nd wk in October with another unrelated donor through the international registry! We have held a donor drive to help others like us in situations of unrelated donors! Bless All That Donate! There really is a HUGE need!!
beautiful story. beauty from ashes. hope from despair. I joined the bone marrow registry this year! my friend shelley and I also started an organ donation awareness project: http://www.becauseicanproject.com. prayers for your family, much love from us.
I have a friend who’s twelve year old son went through a bone marrow transplant about three weeks ago…they found a match on the bone marrow registry and it encouraged me to sign on…I’m praying that I can one day help someone who so desperately needs it…